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This is the second time that Christian Paradis’ office has been slapped with a reproach by a government watchdog. (CHRIS WATTIE / REUTERS)

By Susan DelacourtOttawa Bureau

Thu., March 22, 2012

OTTAWA—Industry Minister Christian Paradis broke his government’s conflict-of-interest law when he gave preferential treatment to former MP Rahim Jaffer, Canada’s ethics watchdog has ruled.

But Paradis, while saying he’s learned his lesson, is standing firm in his job — arguing that he merely opened some doors for an old colleague, for no prospect of financial gain, and that Jaffer didn’t get any government contracts.

“The commissioner recognized that there was never an attempt to influence the decisions of public servants. The company in question never secured a contract,” Paradis said in a statement.

“In the future, I will take further precautions when approached by Canadians seeking more information about the services and programs provided by their government.”

Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson issued a ruling that was measured but firm: “It is natural to want to help someone one knows,” Dawson wrote. But “ministers are in a position of power and have a special responsibility to ensure that that power is exercised fairly and in a way that is open to all Canadians.”

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It’s part of the continuing fallout over the business dealings of Jaffer, first reported in the Star, which exploded into controversy that provoked the ouster of his wife, Helena Guergis, from the Conservative cabinet, and ultimately the party.

As well, this is also the second time that Paradis’ office has been slapped with a reproach by a government watchdog. The federal information commissioner ruled last year that one of the minister’s former aides, Sebastien Togneri — who also played a role in the conflict controversy — had interfered in the release of information deemed damaging to the minister.

The opposition in Parliament is demanding that Paradis face serious discipline for the conflict breach. New Democrat MP Charlie Angus called the ruling a “damning indictment” of the Conservative government’s ethical standards. The last time a cabinet minister was caught in a conflict — under the less strict rules of previous governments — was 10 years ago, when Lawrence MacAulay had to give up his solicitor-general’s job in Jean Chrétien’s government for trying to help a college where MacAulay’s brother was president.

Paradis was in charge of public works, the department that does billions of dollars in government procurement, when Jaffer came to him in 2009 with a plan to install solar panels on top of federal government buildings. The multimillion-dollar proposal was made on behalf of Green Power Generation, a company in which Jaffer was a director.

In her probe, Dawson found that Paradis and his officials had helped Jaffer obtain a series of meetings with Public Works officials who were in a position to approve Green Power’s solar-panel proposal.

The commissioner says Paradis acknowledged that Jaffer had been granted this access to the backrooms of government because he was a former parliamentary colleague.

“While his past relationship with Mr. Jaffer did influence his decision to ask his ministerial staff to arrange a meeting, it was not because he wanted to help Mr. Jaffer or that he had particular trust in him. Rather, he assumed that what Mr. Jaffer was proposing was serious and credible,” Dawson wrote. “Given Mr. Jaffer’s experience as a Member of Parliament, he assumed that Mr. Jaffer knew how things worked and that he would not waste departmental officials’ time with an idea that had no merit.”

Jaffer and his business partner, Patrick Glemaud, have also been found guilty of failing to register as lobbyists for their business-promotion activities during this time.

Guergis was also found guilty of conflict last year for trying to help Jaffer, but her violation was under the government’s conflict code, not the legislation. The code covers MPs; the legislation covers ministers. But neither offence carries a penalty.

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